Tuesday, September 23, 2008

"Leaving Israel" is the debut single from UK composer/arranger Jenni Thompson. Although she is primarily a jazz vocalist and violinist, Thompson shows off her talents as a pianist and, more precisely, as a classical pianist on the track. The single is an original composition written just after a life-changing trip Thompson took to Israel in the summer of 2007. The song begins slowly but quickly moves into a beautiful and haunting build. Thompson pays attention to the entire piano as she keeps the rhythm with the lower keys whilst playing a sweet progression with the higher keys. The song befits the music and would be a perfect soundtrack to a scene in a film where someone is looking sentimentally out of a window while flying away from Israel, or anywhere really. "Leaving Israel" is well-recorded, and Thompson's piano work sounds clean and professional. Though only one track, "Leaving Israel" reveals Jenni Thompson's talents as a composer/arranger and pianist to the world, leaving you eagerly awaiting what her debut full-length, "A Portrait of Jenni," will have to offer. Fans of original classical piano are going to want to pick this one up.